Broken Carriage Wheels

A maid servant ran towards him, stuttering in her words as she said, "Sir, the Mi-miss—"

"What are you saying?" He deadpanned.

"Your daughter is not moving." The maid let out with much struggle.

"And what do you mean by she is not moving?" His voice had grown louder, catching everyone by surprise.

The innkeeper quickly ran in the direction the maid came from, and she also followed from behind hurriedly.

He reached the room, and there he saw the lifeless corpse of someone familiar—his daughter. He shook her body, but nothing he did now would bring her back.

"How did this happen?" He growled angrily at the male servant he had sent, but got no reply.

A few hours earlier...

Belle stepped out of her room to take a quick stroll in the corridor and return to her room. But during her stroll, she came across an empty balcony and decided to rest there for a while.

But she soon lost track of time. And while she was out, the innkeeper's daughter stepped into the room when she saw the door ajar.

Thinking that no guests had been assigned to the room yet, she jumped into bed with a smile on her face.

"Finally, I can be away from the drama a little bit." The girl breathed out and sighed in relief, lying supine on the bed with her hands spread wide.

This was not the first time the Ms. had done something like this—finding an empty room in the inn and staying there for a while. She was, after all, her father's daughter. But this time she was going away forever because her engagement party was only two days away.

When she twirled around in the bed happily, her eyes caught the dish that was covered. Her hand etched forward, and she took away the covering.

Her eyes widened when she saw the fine cake on the plate. Sitting up, she took a slice out of the plate and put it in her mouth to savor its sweet taste.

Once she was done with the plate of cake, the girl took a nap. Only it wasn't a short nap like she had planned. The cake she ate wasn't an ordinary one; it contained a substance that makes a person sleep for a longer time.

Just as she was fast asleep, the servant came to take her away, thinking that it was Belle who lay on the bed.

By the time Belle returned to her room, it was really late. She stepped into the darkroom, and the first thing that caught her attention was the empty plate of cake.

But it didn't bother her too much. She shrugged it off and climbed onto her bed to sleep until the morning.

Now, the innkeeper was at a loss for what to do next. He paced back and forth in the room with his employees watching and some whispering amongst themselves.

"Leave!" He screamed at them.

He came out of the room, but it was exactly at the same time that his wife was hurrying towards him. "Honey, I'm so worried. Our princess didn't come home last nig—"

She reached the front of the room, where her husband stood with a sullen face. Her eyes widened in shock, and she screamed when she saw her daughter's lifeless body lying on the floor, unmoving.

Frantically walking over to the body, she leveled herself. "Honey, what is going on? Why is she not talking or waking up?"

"Get up." The innkeeper said while going to touch his wife to help her stand.

"Don't touch me, you murderer." Her eyes were red with anger. As she faced him, her whole eyes turned fully black with no white in sight, and her teeth sharpened into dangerous and ugly-looking fangs.

And all of a sudden, she plunged towards him and tore the flesh around his neck.

This time, it was his eyes that widened. He staggered back, placing his hand over his bleeding neck.

The total shock was too much; he didn't make for the run immediately and only stared at his wife, who had suddenly turned into something he had never seen before.

"I was saving her for something bigger. I was planning to eat her after her engagement, which was a perfect time, but you ruined it." She cackled. "Now you will also die."

"Wha-what are you? You can't be my wife. Where is my wife?" He took slow steps backward.

A mocking laugh escaped her mouth before she stalked him all the way. Jamming the door first before taking any action on him.

The innkeeper screamed for help, but no help came. She gripped his neck and tilted his head back before tearing him apart with her monster-like fangs, silencing his cries for help.

Her mouth was now stained with blood, and she held the skin of his neck between her disfigured teeth before pushing it inside her mouth to chew.

The color of her eyes returned to normal, and the shape of her teeth returned to their original size as she dropped her husband's body close to her daughter's.

The woman wiped away the blood on her mouth with the back of her mouth and hummed in approval when she finished chewing the piece in her mouth.

On the way to Winstol, Lady Philippa tried to summarize all that Belle had to know.

"People might want to know, so you just have to say that I am your aunt. Your mom passed away…" Belle listened as her aunt went on and on.

"Would I be following you to the soi—" Belle's words were quickly cut off when the carriage wheels moved up a high stone, and a snap sound followed.

Luther stopped the carriage and jumped down to check what had happened to the wheels.

"Is everything okay?" Philippa called from inside the carriage.

"I'm afraid not, m'lady." Answered the coachman in despair.

Philippa got out of the carriage along with Belle, going to see for themselves what the problem was. "What happened?" She questioned.

"The bolt on the wheel has loosened and probably fell off on the way," he explained. "And there is no spare to replace it now."

"How do we get to Winstol?"

Though the trip they still had to cover wasn't long, they still needed a lift.

On the other side of the road where they had come from, a carriage made its way in their direction, and it stopped when it reached where their carriage was parked.

"Lady Philippa, what a pleasant surprise to meet you here." The man inside greeted her first.

"It is pleasant indeed." She chimed in with a smile.

"Do you need a ride? It seems you are having trouble with your carriage." His eyes were trained on Belle as he asked Philippa.

"That would be very lovely, as long as it is not a hassle for you."

He chuckled and said, "Of course not. Please step in."

Once they were settled inside, Luther informed them, "I will stay and fix the carriage before returning." And the lady nodded.

The carriage started moving, but the man's eyes never left Belle, and he couldn't help himself from introducing himself, "I am Lancelot. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" He smiled at her.